Abstract (Expand)
Icosalide is an unusual two-tailed lipocyclopeptide
antibiotic that was originally isolated from a fungal culture. Yet, its
biosynthesis and ecological function have remained enigmatic. By
genome mining …g and metabolic pro fi ling of a bacterial endosymbiont
(Burkholderia gladioli) of the pest beetle Lagria villosa, we unveiled
a bacterial origin of icosalide. Functional analysis of the
biosynthetic gene locus revealed an unprecedented nonribosomal
peptide synthetase (NRPS) that incorporates two β -hydroxy acids
by means of two starter condensation domains in di ff erent
modules. This unusual assembly line, which may inspire new
synthetic biology approaches, is widespread among many symbiotic
Burkholderia species from diverse habitats. Biological assays showed
that icosalide is active against entomopathogenic bacteria, thus
adding to the chemical armory protecting beetle offspring. By creating a null mutant, we found that icosalide is a swarming
inhibitor, which may play a role in symbiotic interactions and bears the potential for therapeutic applications.
Authors: Benjamin Dose, Sarah Niehs, Kirstin Scherlach, Laura V. Florez, Martin Kaltenpoth, Christian Hertweck
Date Published: 30th Aug 2018
Publication Type: Not specified
DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.8b00600
Citation: B. Dose, S. P. Niehs, K. Scherlach, L. V. Florez, M. Kaltenpoth, C. Hertweck, ACS Chem. Biol., 13, 2414−2420, 2018.